Love Struck, Love Sick or Just Plain Sick of Love?

February 1, 1999
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REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 1, 1999 — It’s hard enough to find love, but on Valentine’s Day – the most anticipated romantic day of the year – there’s pressure to find the perfect flowers, a cozy restaurant and sometimes an intimate, yet not too expensive, gift that says,
“I care for you deeply, but I am having commitment issues.”
Making plans for Valentine’s Day isn’t easy, but whether you’re a hopeless romantic or romantically challenged, MSN.com (the Microsoft network of Internet services) will help you find the best information and advice to plan the perfect day. In fact, MSN.com has declared the entire month of February Love Month and will even be available to help you survive the aftermath of the
“day of love.”

With MSN.com, it’s easy to sweep your valentine off his or her feet. Plan a romantic evening, choose the perfect gift, send a steamy poem, and even find true love online with MSN.com, the only love potion needed this Valentine’s Day.

Love Month

During the month of February, these new features will help you plan for the perfect Valentine’s Day and ongoing bliss:

The Love Machine. Whether you’re a prince or a pauper, whether it’s puppy love or pure passion, you can specify how much you want to spend and how romantic you want to be, and the Love Machine will help you plan the perfect Valentine’s Day. Ideas include sending a virtual bouquet, planning a horseback ride at sunset or scheduling a weekend getaway to Paris. Or, if this Valentine’s Day is the time to break it off, check out the Love Machine’s It’s Over section for advice on the best way to sever those ties.

Romance-O-Meter. Take the MSN
&#153;
Love Quiz and test your romantic quotient. Do you spout poetry like Don Juan or do you need a little help? MSN offers inspirational ideas to the hopeless romantic and gives tips to help the romantically challenged.

Cupid’s Mailbox. This Valentine’s Day, Cupid’s going e-postal. Choose from a variety of electronic cards with different themes, including romantic, friendly, secret admirer,
“Dear John”
or
“Let’s just be friends.”

The Love Caf
é
. Stop looking for love in all the wrong places. Spend some time in the Love Caf
é
to get expert advice on love and romance, chat with others and brush up on the history of Valentine’s Day. Remember, you never know whom you might meet online.

MSN Love Month will run from Feb. 1 through 28. After Valentine’s Day, come back to the Love Caf
é
to share tales of inspirational romance, amorous anecdotes or sob stories. Then, if you’ve had bad luck in the valentine department, tune in for sure-fire ways to mend that broken heart with Dr. Pepper Schwartz.

A Post-Valentine’s Day Tell-All

Dr. Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington and author of
“The Great Sex Weekend,”
is scheduled to conduct an online chat Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. Pacific time.
“There’s a lot of pressure on couples and singles alike on Valentine’s Day,”
Schwartz said.
“MSN Love Month eases that pressure by helping to make the most of Valentine’s Day.”
Log on at http://love.MSN.com/ to talk about your Valentine’s Day experience and listen to others’ stories of romance or regret. If your Valentine’s Day, like that of many others, turned out to be an evening of unmet expectations, flat champagne and a starless sky, Dr. Schwartz has advice on ways to make it up to your loved one and rekindle the flame. Or, if the Valentine’s Day fiasco was the absolute last straw, don’t look back. Dr. Schwartz will help you to pick yourself up and move on.

MSN is the network of Internet services from Microsoft that helps people better organize the Web around what’s important to them. The network of MSN services, located on the Web at MSN.com ( http://MSN.com/ ), helps people easily stay in touch with friends and colleagues, make smart and secure purchasing decisions, and get more done. MSN offers award-winning e-mail functionality; personal communications services; customizable access to news; popular sites for travel, investing, automotive services, shopping and more; an online community; a Web search engine and directories; and top-rated Internet access.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

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